The easier to bow thing is somewhere between myth and over-blown.
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Double Bass SPIROCORES ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!
- Thread starter Jason Sypher
- Start date
Fortunately for me, the fact that I don't know the difference between easy to bow and otherwise...these Spiros will be just fine (unless I find that the Evah Pirazzi Slaps that are getting put on my Upton Super Swing by Mike Magee while he sets it up with new bridge and fingerboard dressing, etc. proves to be the shizzle!)...Spiros are so much fun that I'm gonna go pizz on 'em right now. FYI, I just had pizza for dinner!
My neighbor suggests that those are Covid symptoms. Can you still taste things?
Spiros mittels for the arco challenged can yield poo-tones and I get what you say about needing more effort to get the string vibrating. The Helicore Orchs were way friendlier with the bow, but wow- the bass fills up with sound using the Spiros...it's worth it.
I must contribute to this joyful thread. I had a very old (possibly Italian) bass restored last year. It just sings darkly and beautifully with spiros (reds, S42). However I had to try it with a fancy set of handmade gutlike strings, I had in my drawer. I recorded with the DR Bigband this week, and the sound with the fancy strings just wasn’t happening. Even with two Neumann M149’s. A quick shift back to spiros, and voila, the sound was back: ballsy, clear and singing. Spiros aren’t as poetic in my living room, but they sure translate/project in a band situation like no other string. I keep getting string sweats every now and then, and love listening to guys and gals playing gut, but I guess it’s not for me. Or not my bass.
That's cool that you tried the guts. Did you switch back during the session? That in itself would be ballsy!
That is why I had to turn down the Danish Radio Bigband gig.
Yeah, during the first break, I switched as the sound was anemic. Fortunately, spiros are as stable as rock, as you all know.
Another thing: It was a strange thing to be back in the band after COVID lockdown. The band was spread out in two studios + 4 iso booths due to social distancing. However we could HEAR each other at least!
Another thing: It was a strange thing to be back in the band after COVID lockdown. The band was spread out in two studios + 4 iso booths due to social distancing. However we could HEAR each other at least!
I always find this to be curious. I think that the spiros are perfect arco strings! When I have tried something orchestral, meaning dampened, I really miss all the other frequencies that the spiro express. I do remember when I thought spiros were difficult but it was purely my technique. If you take some time and learn to bow them slowly I think you will unlock their cache of sonic weaponry.
I like this very much. I always have a visceral reaction when I put guts on my bass and play in the house. It is likely all those great Rudy Van Gelder recordings with big beautiful ribbon mics up close to Paul Chambers with a lovely plate reverb on the signal. Put guts on your bass and play up close facing the wall and you are in bass heaven. But that doesn't always translate to real world situations. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it does not. I find, much to my surprise overall, that spiros do the job time after time. I absolutely love gut and played an old American Standard on gut for most of the pandemic on outside socially distanced gigs and it was great. But that is a dead-space, no walls, no nodes etc. Spiros are just a perfect string. I did switch out my solo A and E for a Permanent because Paul Kowert insisted I try them and I did keep them on. But I've got nothing but praise for the entire spiro line.
Hey Jason, I'm the bassist that you saved at the Blue Heron Festival in western New York when the crazed festival goer knocked my bridge off minutes before my set. You're kind of my hero on a personal level! And, yes- I'll do arco tai chi to extract more tone out of my Spiros.
We're all in this together bud!
So true, Jason. In fact, I recorded in another studio a month ago. There was a cheap-ish bass strung with guts, that I briefly tried passing by. Up against a wall, the sound was to die for. Was in the back of my head the whole session while I recorded my much “finer” bass.
Another thing: I believe that basses with a rich, “wet” sound need steels for stability and projection, whereas “drier”, simpler sounding basses benefit from guts and gut-like strings. So it’s like finding the right recipe for you and your particular instrument.
Another thing: I believe that basses with a rich, “wet” sound need steels for stability and projection, whereas “drier”, simpler sounding basses benefit from guts and gut-like strings. So it’s like finding the right recipe for you and your particular instrument.
I suspect you could say the same for most strings.
I will politely disagree. Some, yes. Most, I don't know. There are many strings on the market that simply cannot do all the different things a Spirocore string can. Talking with Paul we agree that Spiros do not choke easily, even under considerable weighting. I think hybrid strings cannot hope to do what a Spiro can do, though there is something to Dominants that is very appealing. The other steel strings in the running are almost always overly dampened. The Spiro pizz growl, thud, or thwack. The near-the-bridge-laser-clear-cutting arco with full weight. I keep pushing the parameters of these strings and am always pleasantly rewarded.
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I'm predominantly an arco player. I've used spiro S42 meds and weichs over the years with good bowing results. The thing that bugs me about spiros is the unevenness of tone and volume response across string -- on my bass. I recently put Dominants on my bass. They are consistent arco cross-string, and sound nice and noble, but are a bit scratchier than spiros. They are beautiful pizz.
